Puppy Hypoglycemia

Glucose is the blood sugar that circulates around the body and it is the principle nutrient that your body’s cells use for energy. The liver stores extra sugar in the form of a starch called glycogen. Your body can then use this glycogen to make extra blood sugar between meals to keep the levels of sugar in the blood stable.

Livers of toy breed puppies aren’t very good at making glycogen. This means that they are susceptible to having their blood sugar drop if they don’t eat. This drop in blood sugar can be severe. Their livers are usually able to make normal levels of glycogen by the time they are 12 weeks or so.

Signs of hypoglycemia include:

Lethargy, excessive tiredness, “drunken” appearance or walk, confusion, weakness, sedation, panting, coma, death

What needs to be done?

Hypoglycemia is an EMERGENCY and MUST BE SEEN right away. If it is after hours, please take your puppy to your local animal emergency hospital. Additional blood sugar must be administered and the blood sugar has to be checked frequently over the next 12 hours.

When you first notice a change in behavior at home, you can immediately offer food. If the puppy is too tired to eat, a small amount of corn syrup, maple syrup, or honey can be smeared on the gums. This is absorbed across the gums and can sometimes “wake them up” enough to eat. Either way – this puppy needs to be seen by a veterinarian!

How can I prevent hypoglycemia?

One major misconception is that feeding more sugar (like honey or syrup) to the puppy will avoid hypoglycemia. Sugars are used very quickly and do NOT help keep blood sugar stable. Additional sugar does not hurt the puppy, but is not helping.

The most important thing you can do is increase the frequency of feeding. Fats, fiber, and proteins will help keep the blood sugar stable between feedings. Toy breed puppies should ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO FOOD. Most toy breed puppies eat very little to begin with, so it is not the quantity, but the frequency that is so important. Some puppies do best when offered small amounts of food (a tablespoon of wet food for instance) five or six times daily. There should always be a small amount of a small, dry kibble to eat.

AMH